I want to learn to shoot a revolver

[StrawHat]

…I want to learn to shoot a revolver …


What do you think?…

I think that is an admirable goal! Where do you live? If close by, I have several revolvers I could loan you.

I do not consider the 22 a good candidate for a serious beginner. You already know how to fire a handgun and are used to recoil. Start with a good 38 S&W Special revolver or maybe a 45 ACP revolver. Neither have appreciable recoil and both have excellent competition records.

I always recommend 6 shooters.

Brand? S&W naturally. They have a decent action from the box and can be slicked up easily. Very few gunsmiths can slick up the other brands. Besides, S&W is the standard by which all others are judged.

Try a variety of stocks until you find what is right for your hand and style of shooting.

Good luck.

Kevin

 

[Old cop]

Started my career in ‘68 when we all carried revolvers. I’d recommend a S&W K Frame, 4” .357 as a platform. Do lots of dry fire (w/snap caps) before going to the range to get used to the trigger. My favorite range gun is a 1973 4” Model 66. Good luck & enjoy.

 

[mtgianni]

Make sure that the grips fit your hand.
When you buy one practice every day, with snap caps in a revolver, tracing wall lines up & down, then across a ceiling. Do not fire just track the sights keeping them on the seam.
With snap caps in, work on feeling the DA pull. You want your finger to learn how far it moves before it breaks. I like to speed until I am close then slow a bit as I work on that junction.
Everyone wobbles on a target. Experts make the wobble smaller. I was taught to make my wobble a circle and only pull the trigger on an up cycle never a down.
Enjoy the process. It is something you want to do so have fun.

 

[Dgfrtsgt]

All good advice from the members here. I just want to add a few things. First the grip angel is going to be different than what you have been accustomed to. The trigger pull is to be mastered on the revolver to become proficient. Take a look at Grant Cunningham and Revolverguy .com I have a similar history, shot Glocks, took a lot of classes, now carry revolvers. I am smaller so I carry, Colt King Cobra(3"), 686+(2.5"),19-4 (2.5),10-8(3"). Good luck in your journey.

 

[Heinz]

I bought my wife a pair of Smith revolvers, A model 17 and a Model 19, both in 6 inch.

That gave her a 22 to learn on and a 38/357 to get serious with. The 22 is an advantage if you do not reload. The K frame is more than adequate for hot 38 specials. It is not optimum for high velocity light bullet magnum loads.

She has gone on now but I still have the two revolvers. I think they were an excellent choice, although I might choose 4" barrels over 6"

Smith&Wesson engineers have included the springs that are optimum for the revolvers, Do not mess with them until you are thoroughly familiar with what you have.

The pre lock S&W K frames are excellent quality revolvers and will give great service on the target range, which is where you will learn to shoot a revolver.

 

[somorris]

Lots of good advice here. The only thing I have not seen (may have missed it) is your grip on a revolver needs to be different than on a semi. If you get your thumb out in front of the cylinder,you will probably not do THAT again! I also agree you should look at K frames or larger. Good luck! Let us know what you decide and why.

 

[Birdhunter6]

I'm with StrawHat as far as .22s as starter revolvers. I own and shoot J and K frame rimfires but they aren't needed in the hands of an experienced shooter. As a primarily defensive shooter I would not spend any time on single action shooting.

I too have large hands. With proper grips you can shoot all of the Smiths well, Js included. I would suggest a K or L frame with a 4" barrel in .38 special or .357 using .38s to start.

There is no trigger reset on a DA revolver. Trigger must go all the way forward every time. Rolling the trigger is a good description for multiple shot strings. The 'quarter' drill is a great dry fire skill builder: When you can lay a quarter on the flat in front of the rear sight and dry fire 6 times without losing the quarter you're ready for the range.

Good luck.

 

[Sgt. Buzzard]

Started in '73 with a mod.10. Well used with a fabulous action. Shot on the pistol team and did pretty good. The department noticed and when I made sergeant sent me to the FBI firearms instructors school. Holy cow, that's where I really learned to shoot. Way different than NRA target stuff.

A good double action shooter (both hands) can shoot anything. Stay away from single action. Learn to stage the trigger. Count your rounds and use the count to set the pace depending on time and distance. Dry fire until your finger bleeds then put on a band aid and do some more. OK, maybe not that but at least switch hands.

Fifty years ago I'd say start with a 4" model 10 or 19. But 148 gr. reloads were $2. then. So that advice to seek out an older .22 is right on. Since you're willing to spend the money get your advanced training in the revolver course at Gunsite Ranch in AZ.

The Performance Center 3" model 19 would be a pretty handy gun to have around for a combat course.

 

[BE Mike]

I learned to shoot a revolver double action with a S&W model 28 in the mid 70's. double action is the only way to shoot a double action revolver if used for defense. Learning to shoot double action required a lot of dry fire and live fire. The .357 mag. revolver is a great choice. It is very versatile. Unfortunately ammo is somewhat scarce and expensive these days. I wouldn't get a 9mm revolver since your autos do the job just fine with that cartridge. The .357 mag. is a far superior cartridge. Recently, I picked up a 4" S&W model 18, that is in .22 LR caliber. I qualify every few months with an auto and revolver and found that my revolver skills were starting to tarnish. The model 18 has allowed me to brush up on my double action skills inexpensively and is a good training gun for the model 19 that I use to qualify. You probably would be happier with an N frame, like a model 28, although the cylinder weight is harder to control than the lighter weight of an L or K frame as the bigger mass creates more movement as the cylinder turns. Hope I didn't confuse the issue.

 

[lppd4]

A pre lock 586/686 is hard to beat for a good all around revolver. If you don't mind a little more weight get a pre lock 27/28 and you will be set. The vintage guns are close to the same price as the new ones and most folks will tell you they are better. I learned to shoot a revolver from shooting PPC matches and practicing the Match 5 portion of the match. if you can break 550 out of 600 you are doing pretty well

 

[Inland7-45]

I started off with a brand new 22 Combat Masterpiece in 1972. This was a great gun to practice DA shooting techniques with. I still have this gun as well a model 67 .38 Combat Masterpiece Stainless from the same year to go with it. This year I added a very nice K-22 and .38 Masterpiece to my collection.

While also own some Colt and Ruger revolvers as well N , J and I frame S & Ws I am very partial to the K frame.

A good .22 even at today’s ammunition cost still offers an economical way to master double action shooting. My .22 Combat Masterpiece has never had any action work. It does however have a very smooth DA pull which has improved over time. It also has a great SA pull and hits where it looks.
Practice with the .22 makes transition to the .38 easy. Any .22 cal K frame from any era is good. However ,I have preference for the Pre model number guns up through the Model 17 and 18 dash 4. You will have a harder time finding a 4” barrel and will pay more than for a 6” in a .22. There are just more 6” .22s out there. In .38 cal a 4” will be easier to find as there were more of them out there.

Used K 22s and K 38s are not cheap but by shopping around a little you should be able to find the right gun at the right price.

Not sure if S&W still has the K 22 in the Classic line. These are worth taking a look at.

Good Luck

 

[JonE406]

Never did smooth out that trigger.

I carry a K frame mod 66-8 2.75" daily, I have owned many revolvers since 1974, started out with a mod 10 in the USAF.

 

[Goblin]

The great thing about a revolver is it lends itself to dry fire practice. You can dry fire double action until your hands wear out.

I recommend cutting out white paper circles and putting them on a wall at a scale that simulates 12” steel targets at 20 yards or so. You can use dry fire to train your muscles so that the correct muscles are just gripping the gun and the correct muscles are only squeezing the trigger. This practice will get you way down the learning curve without spending a fortune on ammo.

 

[StrawHat]

I dry fired a revolver every day for years. I still do, but not daily. The best way to dry fire is to find a perfectly blank wall, bring the revolver up and get your sight picture, squeeze until the hammer falls. You should only be concentrating on the sights, no targets, quarters, or other gimmicks. When the hammer falls, did the sights move? They shouldn’t! Master that and then add the gimmicks if you want.

Once you get command of the trigger, distant targets become easy.

Kevin

 

[larondo]

I'm a member in a local gun club, happily since 15 years.
The folks are incredible, at least most of them. Always ready to chat, share knowledge or instruct at the range. Well worth the 2-digit annual membership fee.
I learned shooting my revolver this way, next to other hand guns, rifles, shotguns etc. If I wanted, I could plug into Black Powder and Cowboy Action. It's all available. Even Junior & Women training.

I shot many NRA matches with revolvers. Cock the hammer with the thumb of your supporting hand, keep your sight picture.

I just got tired of cocking the hammer, so I began to shoot semi-autos and love it.

 

[CALREB]

Gabstock, if you want to stick to 9mm revolvers I would get a 929, big N frame but holds 8 rounds but should fit your big hands. I have a 986 and its ok but not as accurate as I would like. Actually a 9X21 cylinder(Italian run of guns) not true 9mm. However if you reload you might like that as you could boost the power factor.

If you are not hung up on 9mm and were only going to buy 1 or 2 revolvers I would stick with a 586/686 gives you the ability to shoot 357 if you ever wanted to, and are very robust, accurate guns. If you just want a target 38 special gun I would hunt down a model 14-5/6/ 7, 6" with the underlugged barrel. K frame with some extra weight, can be smoothed up very nicely, great accuracy. They hold up very well to all types of 38 ammo. I have some over 30 years old with at least 25-30,000 rounds through one with no issues. If you chose to buy a 17/617 22 cal to practice with its the exact same gun just a tad heavier.
If you happen to live in N Texas I would be glad to let you shoot a bunch of models. Most of my guns are set up with smooth narrower type triggers, and smaller (non-target) type hammers for double action shooting. I shot PPC matches for over 30 years and taught a few non rev shooters over the years.
Otherwise the advise to get a nice smooth action revolver ( not necessarily light) have someone teach you proper grip and finger placement and dry fire the bejesus out of it. Practice till you can go six or 8 presses and not disturb a nickle on the rib. Then if you have a nice flat patridge sight , go to a dime on it. If you go to six presses with that and you are gripping firm enough and pressing smooth enough to not lose the dime, you will do just fine.

If you are married, find a spot that doesnt disturb your mate. I went to the bedroom, put a show on the TV, reduced(real small) target on an old BP vest, against the wall. I used empty casings and switched them out every few days. I tried many types of dummy rounds, but they usually drag. I polished some on 220 grit paper and they lasted 6 months or so. They may have better products now. Good luck...

 

[Modified]

Make sure that the grips fit your hand.

This is a profound statement that is worth some old old school information tacked onto it.

Very few people really consider what "fit" means. For so many we have had to work around the magazine inside the grip that the thought that stocks could actually fit your hand doesn't even really register.

If you go back a bit and pick up Walter F. Ropers books you will find that what is most important to your grip on the gun is that your grip is consistent on the gun each time you grasp it, and it doesn't shift due to recoil (causing you to have to re-adjust your grip). Except that you should be able to do this without having a death grip on the gun.

How a gun feels in your hand when you just pick it up, and how that same set of grips performs under recoil are two radically different things in many cases.

Few people really understand just how incredibly technical the old Roper grips actually are. They are usually very attractive, but that is really hiding the treasure they are for shooting.

If they fit you. The problem with old Ropers is that they were mostly custom made... to the specific dimension of the shooter's hand (As traced on paper, or in some cases fit in person). That sort of service is really not realistically available today. But, we can still learn some excellent lessons not just from his books, but observing the grips he had Gagne make for him. I've owned near 20 pair now and only two fit me exactly, which is actually quite lucky.


Based on my experience getting to enjoy the fine old custom grips I usually tell people that its important to get a broad range of custom grips, and shoot with each of them. Which set actually works for you is heavily dependent on your hands. No one can say XYZ grip is the best, because while it may be for them, it might not be for you.

Personally, I am a huge fan of Hogues. He was the clear winner of the LA Shooting team's grip race. But, I should note. If a set of grips fit your hand right then you will probably prefer them in wood, not rubber. It seems like rubber would be superior, but with good fit wood (or old Hogues made of nylon) may work better for you as they do for me. Never be afraid to swap grips willy nilly until you hit on the right pair.

 

[CALREB]

I agree with Modified. grips/stocks whatever you want to call them are very important on a gun with a lot of trigger movement. I never tried too many custom makers. I have a set of Nill's that I won and they feel good but I didnt like wood for competition. When Bill Davis came out with his larger style grips in softer rubber, I began experimenting. Didnt like finger grooves, they never fit right. What I came up with after much grinding/sanding etc was a longer bottomed style of grip like JMs. Though I had never seen that style of grip or heard of it for years. All my revolvers that I shoot much have this grip on them. Here are a before and after photos. I think the new style grips like on my 986 are pretty close.

 

[Modified]

I love it. Reminds me of in the 20’s when guys would add and remove electrical tape until they had the grip exactly right for their hands.

 

[VaTom]

I dry fired a revolver every day for years. I still do, but not daily. The best way to dry fire is to find a perfectly blank wall, bring the revolver up and get your sight picture, squeeze until the hammer falls. You should only be concentrating on the sights, no targets, quarters, or other gimmicks. When the hammer falls, did the sights move? They shouldn’t! Master that and then add the gimmicks if you want.

Once you get command of the trigger, distant targets become easy.

Kevin

Excellent advice. Not an "expert" but I went through basic LEO training in 1976 spending lots of time at the range with Model 10's. As Chief of a small campus department we transitioned from revolvers to Glocks in the 1990's. In my opinion the biggest difference to learn is trigger pull and control between a semi-automatic and a revolver (in double action). (Whether transition from revolver to semi or vice-versa). When practicing with the revolver as you pull the trigger watch the hammer draw back, your squeeze should be such that you will not anticipate when it will fall.

Hope that makes sense! Good luck.